The 2025 MLB season is still young, but the concerns for the Los Angeles Angels could be mounting. On paper, the outlook isn’t dire. They sit just six games behind the AL West–leading Seattle Mariners with more than 120 games to go. But the deeper story lies in how they’ve played. Despite the manageable gap in the standings, the Angels have looked like a fundamentally flawed team, and it’s becoming harder to ignore.
They currently sit last in the division and rank among the bottom three teams in the American League overall. After winning their first four series, the Angels have dropped 14 of their last 20 games and carry a minus-63 run differential, the fourth worst in Major League Baseball.
The team’s biggest issue is an underperforming roster lacking depth and balance. Mike Trout, the club’s lone superstar, leads the team with nine home runs and has also added 18 RBIs despite not playing since April 30. The three-time MVP injured his twice-surgically repaired left knee after stepping awkwardly on first base in Seattle. Though eligible to return from the injured list soon, Trout recently admitted he’s not yet ready.
Offensively, the Angels are a contradiction. One stat works in their favor. They lead MLB in fewest runners left in scoring position per game (2.71). But rather than signaling clutch hitting, that number likely highlights a more troubling issue: they’re simply not getting enough runners on base. The Angels rank 24th in runs per game (3.83), last in walks per game (2.41), and average the most strikeouts per game (9.85). Their team OPS is just .665, 24th in the league while their team batting average is .216, with a .276 on-base percentage and a .389 slugging mark. All of these marks are below standard.
There are a few bright spots. First baseman Nolan Schanuel leads the team with a .265 batting average, 36 hits, and a .348 on-base percentage. Left fielder Taylor Ward is heating up and leads the team with 21 RBIs, and Zach Neto has added a spark from the leadoff spot. Still, the absence of a big bat to pair with Trout in the heart of the order is glaring.
Manager Ron Washington has remained calm but candid, saying, “Our Achilles heel has been that sixth and seventh inning.” He added in a postgame press conference, “We really put some good at-bats together, and that’s what we have to keep doing. Just putting them together, just putting them together.” But good at-bats alone aren’t enough when the pitching can’t hold up.
The pitching staff has struggled mightily. The Angels are 26th in team ERA at 5.13, and the bullpen has been a disaster, posting a 7.07 ERA, worst in the majors. The lack of strikeouts and inability to limit walks has made nearly every lead feel unsafe. The hope is Ben Joyce (15-day IL), Ben Burke, and other setup arms can stabilize the late innings and hand things off to Kenley Jansen to close out a clean ninth.
The most critical stretch of the Angels’ season is underway. They have seven games remaining on a pivotal 10-game road trip, all against teams with winning records. They have three games against the crosstown rival Dodgers starting on Friday, May 16, and then four against a surprisingly competitive Athletics squad. Both clubs are above .500 and playing postseason-caliber baseball, making this mid-May stretch potentially season-defining.
Last Monday’s Game 1 against the Padres offered a glimpse of hope. Trailing 5–3 in the ninth, the Angels erupted for six runs, capped by a Taylor Ward grand slam. Closer Kenley Jansen sealed the 9–5 comeback win in the bottom half of the ninth inning.
Game 2 on Tuesday night was another ninth-inning thriller, this time with a different outcome. The Angels carried a two-run lead into the eighth, but reliever Ryan Zeferjahn surrendered two runs to tie the game. In the ninth, Fernando Tatis Jr. crushed his first career walk-off home run off Jansen, giving the Padres a dramatic 6–4 win.
The Angels aren’t out of it yet and if they can start stringing together wins while still finding their rhythm, they might just climb out of the hole they’re in.